Lenny approached him. "So Josh, what do you think? It's more efficient than going at it alone, right?"
It really wasn't but Josh still adopted an impressed expression. "It was an eye-opener for sure!" As in, he expected better from them.
"Of course, haha. I and the boys are going to a bar to celebrate, wanna come?"
"Of course! Count me in!" Josh enthusiastically replied.
They surprisingly headed to the H district. "Wait, aren't most places to eat and drink in the G district?"
"Haha, most of them yes. But it would be unrealistic to have all of these in one area. After all, eating is a core component of life. It is the same for convenience stores. There are a few allowed in every district. Usually, it would be extremely hard to get a permit for that, but the H district is special. No one really cares about drinking there so… Anyway, the owner is a good friend of ours since we are regulars there. We even have our own table haha."
That certainly made sense. Josh ignored so much about the city. Not that it mattered too much. He had time to slowly explore it. He felt like a tourist discovering an entirely new world…actually he was haha. They soon reached the <Drinking/Eating Place>.
"What's with the name?"
"Hehe, he lost a bet and had to put that. At first, it was a joke, but it somehow became real. Honestly, you'd be surprised by the number of official names that began like that. With the advent of the Tower, people needed a place to relax after the gruesome Climb. They were perfectly fine with leaving their seriousness in the Tower."
They headed in. As soon as they entered the tavern keeper shouted: "If isn't the <Familia>, you bunch of handsome bastards! Ah, Lou is as cold as always haha. Ah, who's this? A new face? New member?"
"Haha, we'll see. He shows potential. We just came back from the Tower, now we want to Celebrate!"
"Roger that, I'll bring you guys some drinks. Just make yourself at ease."
For some reason, there was no other customer in the entire establishment. What were the odds? They sat at a big table in the corner by a jukebox. The old-style looking kind, except that the interior was clearly new.
Lenny fiddled with it a few moments before a cool melody started playing. One that sounded very pleasing to the ear and relaxing. He gave a smile to Josh before sitting again. Then came the food and the drinks. While it was pretty ordinary hot dogs and beer it was nice.
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The hot dogs tasted wonderful. The kind that you know is kinda trashy but still delicious. Meanwhile, the beer had a very rich taste, one that was very peculiar. While it definitely wasn't good it wasn't bad either. Lenny kept encouraging everyone to drink and be merry, especially Josh.
Josh complied quickly. Chugging it all to the satisfaction of his new companions. Then it was more partying and dancing. At some point, they even had fun trying to throw chips into each other's mouths.
Josh clearly was flushed red from the alcohol and was talking as loudly as a drunk could, the same could be said for Lenny. At some point, the other bid them farewell. They were going to sleep early for tomorrow's work thus leaving both men alone. That is when Lenny took out a pendulum and a contract.
Swinging it in Josh's face he uttered calmly: "Joining us is the best opportunity for you, you should take it. We will welcome you as a family because that's all <Familia> is about."
Josh suddenly stood up intoxicated, pouting and slurring his words: "No! I want to Climb! I wanna be the very best Climber like no one ever was!"
"Yes, we'll help you do that.", Lenny coaxed.
"No! I want to Climb right now! Actually, I'm going! Hahaha! You coming?", Josh bolted away laughing childishly.
Lenny sighed before following him. Soon they entered Floor 8 once more. As soon as they were inside he turned to the giggling Josh: "You can drop the act, now."
"What?"
"You are pretty good at acting drunk you could have fooled even me. Honestly, I was sure you drank the whole thing, with everything mixed in it. But, you clearly don't know how to act drugged. Drop it. Tell me, what made you suspicious of me?"
Josh sighed. "I already was when I first came, but then you insisted I drink and somehow I only met with three additional members of the guild. Why is that?"
"The others are all weaklings and drug addicts. Couldn't really show them, right? But hey, at least they are decent workers. Give them a constant supply of Firgone and they'll do anything. Without it, they'll be back to their useless selves after all. Well, that and how addictive it is haha."
"So you drug people, make them addicted, and exploit them afterward?"
"Pretty much. But hey, the official version is that I give them the opportunity to join a great guild. We are all a big family after all."
"So you tried to drug me and failed yet you still followed me here? Aren't you worried at all?"
"Did you know that the Tower allows up to a 3-level difference between party members? I have Climbed up to Floor 11."
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"And?"
"Well, simply put this place is all a game of numbers you know. I am higher level than you and I have more skills than you for sure since you are classless haha." He then took out the contract again. "Sign it, or there will only be one of us coming out of here."
Josh took it and started reading it. It was basically a slave contract. 90% of the wealth would go to the guild with Josh only getting the scraps. Furthermore, there were no guild benefits at all, ah except for some supply of Firgone. It was literal poison to help calm their nerves and forget their shitty lives.
"Here I thought Gemini's offer was bad, here you are totally topping it. What makes you even think I'd respect such a contract."
"Oh, I believe you will. You could try and break the contract but you'd be blacklisted from joining a guild in the future no matter what. You'd be screwed."
Josh looked at him right in the eyes. "There is no way this is that simple. This is a magical item, isn't it? One that is impossible to breach or something?"
Lenny chuckled: "How perceptive. I can't believe someone as smart as you decided to enter a Floor alone with me. You can't communicate with anyone here either. You asked why I am so confident, right? Let me show you exactly why haha!"
He gestured in the air clearly in order to look cool, then gear appeared on his person. Full gear from head to toe. Earrings, rings, a necklace, everything.
"See this! My worst items are F Rank! This is giving me about 50% more power hahaha. Once more, sign the contract or I'll kill you. You know, I wanted to do this the easy way but…you just had to struggle. No matter."
Josh simply started laughing. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA."
"Have you lost your mind?!" Lenny showed unease.
"How coincidental. I also happen to be in a similar situation. You know with the F-Rank items. Well, that's because F-Rank Imp earrings are actually BiS for a swordsman compared to the E-Rank version."
That is when Josh willed his gear to show up. Appeared on him mismatched-looking equipment. The difference was that his was pretty much all E-Rank and chosen by Liam directly. Let's just say it had better stat distribution than what one could easily find on the market.
"E-Rank?! Impossible! How did a guildless guy like you ever…?!"
"Oh, that? I did join a guild, well kinda. Ever heard of Draconic?" Josh simply stood there smiling at him with his arms crossed.
The distorted face of Lenny now showed sheer horror. The defenseless newcomer turned out to be a dragon in disguise. Lenny simply started running. No word, just a mad dash away. Running for his life. Just as Josh was about to catch up the man took a pearl out before throwing it toward him. What was…. *BOOM*
Apparently, it was a bomb. How?! Technology was supposed to be …. Ah, it was probably an alchemical product or something. Still, it didn't cause any damage to Josh at all. The explosion wasn't that strong. Lenny simply kept running. Killing a golem from time to time using a well-timed explosion.
Josh realized what the man was hoping for. If he was lucky and got a rare core, he could complete the mission and escape. The city was a lawful zone. He may be busted and his guild over, but he could possibly escape with his life.
At that moment that was all that mattered to the man. He kept franticly going until finally, lady luck smiled at him! He started laughing instantly muttering the exit command and disappearing in a flash of red light.
Back in Metropolis C Josh and Lenny suddenly appeared. The latter had a grinning and victorious expression on his face. Josh simply left without turning back. Before long he had reached Dale's place.
"Josh, you are back! How did it go?"
"He truly was scum. His whole game was to enslave people to work for him with dubious contracts and drugs."
"I see, what happened exactly?"
"Switch the news on, I'm sure it will be there."
Lara in the back heard it and complied. Then on the screen appeared a reporter.
"Hello, I am Don from <Fast-News>. Today we have a report of a bizarre Tower-related incident. A few minutes ago, a severed head appeared out of the Tower. As we know death is a very real reality in the Tower. What makes this case special is that the man's party member could be seen leaving the area without even looking back. This makes some believe that this could be a case of cold-blooded murder. The Black Squad is currently looking for the man to interrogate him and…"
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Then came a shout from the door.
"This is the Black Squad open up! According to article 42-B of the public safety department, you are now hereby under suspicion of harboring a criminal! Should you refuse to comply with law enforcement you will be dealt with as if accomplices!"